Scharffen Berger was a name I hadn't heard of until I came acrossFamily Fresh Cooking'sgiveawayannouncement. I used to mostly nosh on Cadbury and Ferrero Rocher earlier, had tasted Lindt, Lindor and Godiva, tried Ghirardelli after moving to the States, and as a beginner, started baking with the good ol' and common Hersheys and Nestlé products. From what I understand, Scharffen Berger falls under the premium category, more for the professional bakers and those who fancy finest dark chocolates. Just how some prefer fresh, real coffee from coffee beans instead of instant coffee powder!

To my surprise, I won the Scharffen Berger giveaway (valued at $140!) and received it just before Christmas, with everything in the box enough to last me until after New Years! This being the first giveaway I ever won in life felt even better when I saw the cookbook - the very first cookbook in my life that I now proudly own :-)

I detest mooli ki kanji. I don't know what others call it as, but mooli ki kanji is radish chunks in some pickle-sorta liquid and super stinky. Once the lid of the bottle of kanji opens at home, the stench is inevitable. No offense to those who like it, but it is because of that kanji I started hating radish since childhood.

But this muli ka paratha (radish stuffed paratha) changed my view and I accepted that radish in itself is not stinky and does not taste as bad as I had imagined.

Roaches, lizards, and rats were not uncommon visitors back home in India. Even monkeys, cats, and sometimes tiny snakes. I've either seen some of 'em back then or have at least heard stories. But having one of those visitors in our apartment here in US was a surprise. More of a shock, if I may admit. Especially because we figured out several days later after it made its small home in our home. We had been noticing the fruits being nibbled, but thought it was probably some insect, until one night ...

This Spinach and Paneer Stuffed Paratha does not mean it is made of Palak Paneer gravy, no. The chopped spinach and crumbled paneer is cooked with spices and filled as a stuffing into the paratha. You can make these stuffed parathas for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, or freeze the stuffing and use later to make parathas when you are short on time.

Sweet Potato (aka Yam in North America; Shakarkandi in Hindi) looked more orangish-pinkish here in US than I’ve seen them as back home. I used to love eating the creamish-colored sweetened shakarkandi & tried making the same, just gave it a fancy name ‘Sugar Glazed Sweet Potato’, haha.

And when I grated one, it looked like grated carrots, so I experimented Kheer with it & it worked. Now I’m beginning to think anything can be added to make kheer, hehe! I especially loved the color – it would have taken a tablespoon of saffron in a regular rice kheer to obtain the beautiful yellowish-orange color that I got with sweet potato itself.

Puran Poli (also known as Holige / Obbattu / Bobatlu / Bobbatlu / Puranachi Poli in different parts of India) is a Maharashtrian style roti-like flatbread called ‘poli’ with sweet split Bengal gram (chana dal) stuffing known as ‘puran’, mostly made during festivals or special occasions - but in my case, any time.Although wikisays Puran Poli is a dessert, I have NEVER seen it eaten as dessert – it is almost like a one-meal main course (because it is so sugary & loaded with ghee!), known to be eaten along with Chana Dal Amti. However, whenever I have had Puran Poli in Maharashtra and Hyderabad - whether for lunch or dinner - it was always with Kadhi (withoutthe Pakora) – and that’s how I love it too.Puran Poli and Kadhi. There's something about the sweet, soft poli dipped in a tangy, salty kadhi. Yum.

In this post, since it's winters, most of the ones here are especially for skincare products. Since we need to purchase lots of lotions & body creams for the forthcoming months, might as well save on them here & there!

After mostly cooking mixed-vegetable Toor Dals or Chana Dals [Split Bengal Gram] for regular meals, when I cooked Amti I was amazed at how such amalgamation of flavors of herbs and spices add so much punch to Chana Dal.

Amti is a Maharashtrian style sweet-salty-spicy-tangy Dal eaten with rice, more famous as an accompaniment to Puran Poli.It appears that a special Maharashtrian style ‘Goda Masala’ is used for cooking Amti, but in this Amti recipe that I’ve used (picked from Shobha Indani’s book) it’s a shorter version of the masala.

So in case you don’t have all the ingredients required in actual Goda Masala (here’s a recipe on Sanjeev Kapoor’s page), then you may go ahead with the recipe below, still tastes great:-)

Greek yogurt (aka yogurt cheese, strained yogurt, or labneh), simply put, is plain yogurt that has been strained in a cloth or some sort of filter to remove the whey, giving a consistency between that of yogurt & cheese, while preserving yogurt's distinctive taste [wiki].

If you think Greek Yogurt sells quite expensive outside, you can easily make Greek Yogurt at home using regular plain yogurt, it is not complicated at all.

Wiki explains it best: clarified butter is milk fat rendered from butter to separate the milk solids and water from the butterfat. Typically, it is produced by melting butter and allowing the different components to separate by density. The water evaporates, some solids float to the surface and are skimmed off, and the remainder of the milk solids sink to the bottom and are left behind when the butter fat (which would then be on top) is poured off.

Clarified butter, aka Ghee in Hindi and several other names around the world, is used in many ways in India – in cooking, for serving, dipping into or brushing on food, for religious purposes, and also as skin softener for dry skin during cold winters.

how to make ghee at home

Here in the US, I get the 2lb bottle of Swad ghee for $8.99 – but in this post I am going to show you how to make ghee at home for under $2 but same quantity. That’s right. Totally worth it.

Paneer, aka Chhena in India, is an unaged, acid-set, non-melting farmer cheese or curd cheese made by curdling heated milk with a food acid [wiki]. Some call paneer as 'cottage cheese' whereas some call it 'ricotta cheese', but I think it is closer to ricotta cheese because making Paneer does not require rennet, cream, or buttermilk the way cottage cheese does. It is still a highly debatable question.

Wheatgrass can either be grown at home or you can buy from health food store. You can drink the juice at juice bars (such as Jamba Juice, too expensive for a shot of wheatgrass juice!) or there are bottled juices and wheatgrass in powdered forms to be mixed with water. I grow wheatgrass at homeregularly and being a vegetarian, I personally drink wheatgrass juice because of its high iron content in comparison to spinach, broccoli, etc.

There are times in the kitchen when I am in a hurry to cook, but I would need to chop some ginger, garlic, or green chilies ... or require adding one of those pastes real quick.

Everything is available at grocery stores, but provided you have some time on hands, would you want to spend $6.99 for a bottle of garlic paste that you can make at home within $2?

When I realized I could prepare and store garlic paste, green chili paste, and ginger paste very easily at home, I started making them in bulk without using any chemicals or artificial preservatives, also saving some bucks alongside.

Used in various cuisines around the world, from condiments to snacks, desserts to dips, and much more, even used for face masks & as natural hair conditioner - yogurt is one of the most versatile products to have in the kitchen. And what's better than knowing the fact that you can easily make yogurt at home?!

With reference to Sunday newspapers in my earlier post Save Your Money – Use Coupons!, the upcoming P&G brandSAVER®coupon booklet with savings over $102 will be published on 30th October 2011.

And in continuation to the list from Coupons: Grocery, Kitchen Items & Household Products - Part 1, here are more links for some useful household products & grocery items. You might want to read the notes & explanation & tips in Part 1 about using these websites. Clicking on the link takes you to the offer/promotion/coupon page right away. Also read notes below.

I cannot believe how easy it is to make Shrikhand and how long it took me to actually realize this!!!!! If you are looking for a no cook, no bake, no gelatin, no agar agar, extremely simple, super easy, delicious and flavorful eggless dessert - then this Indian sweet dish called Shrikhand is your answer.

In an earlier post (Save Your Money – Use Coupons!) I mentioned 5 ways to save & shared the already-popular-yet-ignored links :-) Well, beside the Sunday newspapers, as time passed, I made a list of some brands / products / websites that provide printing coupons online. I found it impossible to match the amazing 'extreme couponing' videos where they pay just few dollars for some $200 of shopping! So I collect & clip coupons in ways that anyone else can also do without wasting much time. Here I'm listing out simple ways to find/search/get coupons along with some direct links to help you add up your savings :-)

When invited at a snack potluck last week, I searched hours for various snack ideas but most of them seemed humdrum – at potlucks you want to take something unique because you like it when people appreciate, right?

I knew some others were bringing cutlets, samosas, a baked dish, sandwiches, and Mexican pinwheels. Amid those, I thought the light snack StuffedKhandvi from Gujarat (also known as Pittod in Rajasthan & Suralichi Vadi in Maharashtra)would be different (being the only item with chickpea flour).

Stuffed Khandvi | Chickpea Flour Rolls | Pittod | Suralichi Vadi

Basic Khandvi is made without any stuffing & still tastes & looks great, but I added a slight variation, and had everyone complimenting on how soft & good the Khandvi was.

I had one whole packet of grapes at home. Grapes that were about to rot, actually. I needed something beyond salads to use them. Found thisraita recipe - a delicious combination of seasoned yogurt (raita) with fruit + nuts + herb + spices that turned out sooooo good! This Grapes and Walnut Raita is going to be addictive if you have a taste like mine.

In the initial days after I moved to the USA, I used to convert the currency & find some things so expensive [do I see you nodding? :D ] Then I learned about the different kinds of coupons they use here & how it really helps save up at least a little bit each month. Several people might not know about coupons, some might - but never use them. And if it’s about feeling shy, stingy, or “what people may think” ... then trust me no one cares. And even if they do, you shouldn’t – they’re not working hard to pay your bills :-)

From what I've heard, in the initial years after Facebook launched in 2004, it was a university's prestige to have special access to Facebook for its students. Then it became public. Then it became a trend; the first thing you'd ask if someone was on Facebook, the next thing was to add them immediately. Over the years the developers introduced several applications, improved privacy settings, launched advertisements and sponsorships, created Fan pages, added video-sharing and chat, connected and reconnected friends, families, and strangers around the world, and enhanced overall user experience. Basically, Facebook became the only other thing (apart from women) having the power to attract people of all ages.

Apples were about to rot at home so while searching for Apple recipes to use them up faster before it is too late, I found thisquick easy and simple recipe for Apple Kheer / Apple Pudding (you can also call it Apple Rabdi if you make it thicker!). Should serve about 4 persons.

Apple Pudding - who would believe this kheer is made using apples?! Try it.

Amid the hundred of different kinds of recipes for eggless chocolate cake, here I found another one from Shobha Indani’s cookbook ‘Swad Sugandh’ that worked. It interested me because of the use ofyogurt in this cake, but in the end the taste or smell of curd is just not noticeable at all in the cake.

I also used Almonds & Walnuts (totally optional), for this cake but you can add anything else you like. As for the frosting, out of several trial and errors I came up with something that turned out fine.

I actually came up with this theory (yeah right!) when I had to dine alone one day. Since I was eating alone, I wanted to make the most of my appetite and get more value for money at this all-you-can-eat buffet. I came up with some ways that I can apply at the salad bar restaurants, such as Sweet Tomatoes, Souper Salad, Fresh Choice, or Sizzlers. You may try these at other kinds of restaurants or buffets and see if it works! Since I don't eat meat, this list is limited to vegetarians.

I was at this place where I overheard a group of 10 female friends discussing about their troubles, their marriage, their kids and husbands, and as you know women – they were talking about any and every other topic under the sun :-) Out of the whole 5-hour entertaining conversation that I was a part of (as a silent spectator), I thought of writing about the one that interested me the most. For now, I’m jotting as much as I can before I forget; more to be added as I recall. Enjoy…

Rose: How many of you fought with your husband before you came here?(Everyone raises hand and nods)

This recipe for Vegetarian Gobi Gulistan or Tandoori Gobhi (the vegetarian version) is adapted from Shobha Indani's 'Swad Sugandh' & serves 4-6 people. This makes a very impressive dish to serve at a party.

total page views

Disclaimer

ALL the information and photographs on this blog SPUSHT belong to the writer of this blog, unless specified otherwise. Credits given where deserved. NO MATERIAL WHATSOEVER from this blog may be copied, used, reprinted, or published without the writer's consent. Get permission first.